Take a moment to look at the trees growing in this area. The mix of species includes Red Alder (Alnus rubra), Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), and Douglas-fir (Psuedotsuga mensiezii). The trees here vary in size and shape; you can find branches growing on trees as low as the ground and as high as the tops of the tallest trees. This diversity provides multiple layers of shade cover. The stand consists of both live and dead trees - dead trees are important features in a forest, especially to woodpeckers and animals that nest in cavities.

Now consider the diversity in the plant life around here, the gaps between the trees, and the large amount of dead wood rotting on the forest floor. These features provide space for herbs, ferns, shrubs, and tree seedlings to grow. Variation in composition and space creates overall complexity which, in turn, creates higher degrees of biodiversity than that of much of the plantation area.

Why is this area different? When this area was logged, the amount of clearing done with machines was less intensive, possibly because this land slopes and is therefore more difficult to reach with machines. Less machine-clearing allowed the forest floor to remain intact, thick, and spongy. Many of the trees that were seedlings and saplings when this area was being logged survived and now they are the dominant kind of tree here.